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Cannabis companies have long had a problem with banking in the U.S. They may be legal in certain states, but they cant access many financial services because federal law outlaws marijuana.

The situation has hampered the industry, and a fix called the SAFE Banking Act has stalled for years. If passed, that bill would bar federal banking regulators from punishing financial institutions for providing services to a "legitimate" cannabis-related business.

U.S. Rep. Ed Perlmutter (D-CO) has led the effort in the House to pass the SAFE Banking Act five separate times, only to see the Senate block it each time.

On Friday, Perlmutter appeared on Yahoo Finance Live to discuss effort number six and explained the political dynamics that have stymied his efforts ever since Colorado legalized marijuana in 2012. Early efforts were thwarted when figures like Sen. Mike Crapo (R-ID), then Senate Banking Committee Chair, raised various objections in 2019, citing the potency of marijuana and the possibility the bill could facilitate money laundering.

U.S. Representative Ed Perlmutter (D-CO) listens to testimony before the House Committee on Rules at the United States Capitol in Washington, U.S., December 2, 2021. REUTERS/Evelyn Hockstein

I passed it first...when the Republicans were in charge of the Senate and Senator Crapo at that time, basically said the bill was too big and too broad, Perlmutter said.

Most of those concerns have been allayed, but now Perlmutter is facing pushback from fellow Democrats including Senators Chuck Schumer and Cory Booker, who are instead focused on comprehensive cannabis reform.

"From Schumer and Booker's point of view, the bill is too limited and too narrow, Perlmutter says.

Booker wants to solve the banking problem by legalizing marijuana at the federal level. In the past, the New Jersey senator has vowed he will lay myself down to block efforts to pass the marijuana banking legislation before larger cannabis reform.

Republicans have also pushed for legalization, with Rep. Nancy Mace (R., S.C.) leading one effort. The only place this is controversial is in Washington, D.C., she has told Yahoo Finance in the past.

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For his part, Perlmutter supports a broader bill but also wants to pass a law addressing the banking issue this year. If they could add research, if they could add some criminal justice reform, if they could add taxation components, I'm all for it, Perlmutter said. But we need to get something passed and on to the president this year.

Industry analysts, like Barclays, have said that they dont see cannabis being legalized under the Biden administration. Perlmutter agrees that there aren't enough votes in the Senate currently for a broader bill.

However, he often notes that a bipartisan group of lawmakers support the banking provisions and says his bill, if passed, can break the ice towards larger efforts.

Ben Werschkul is a writer and producer for Yahoo Finance in Washington, DC.

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One lawmaker's crusade to legalize cannabis banking in the US - Yahoo Finance

Buffalo may have gotten bounced in the divisional round of the 2021 NFL playoffs, but quarterback Josh Allen and his team left the kind of impression on bettors that Bills Mafia leaves on tables. The AFC East champs opened as +750 co-favorites on BetMGM to win the 2022 Super Bowl and nearly a fifth of all the money wagered so far is betting on them to finally break through and claim the Lombardi Trophy next year.

The four most popular Super Bowl bets hail from the AFC. A tick over 14% of bettors have futures on Buffalo, followed by the Chiefs (8.6%), Bengals (6.9%) and Titans (5.9%). Those four represent the final four AFC teams left standing after this year's wild-card round. Kansas City shares the same +750 odds as the Bills, while Cincinnati is +1200 and Tennessee is +2200.

The public is about as enthused to wager on the newly crowned champion Rams as their fan base is to attend regular season home games. Only 5.3% of tickets are betting on a successful Hollywood sequel next season, which would pay +1100.

Despite finishing 7-10 this year, the Broncos (+1600) opened with the sixth-best odds to win it all in 2022 and have received the sixth-most action (5.1%). These odds and wagers are factoring in the possibility of Denver acquiring the one glaring piece they're missing to be a Super Bowl contender: a quarterback. Could this price be a Rodgers rate? The Broncos have cap space in the neighborhood of $48 million and could afford to reunite Aaron Rodgers and maybe even wide receiver Davante Adams with former Packers offensive coordinator and current Broncos head coach Nathaniel Hackett.

Cincinnati opened 2021 as a +8000 long shot to win the Super Bowl, then saw those odds balloon to +15000 during the early part of the season. Lions fans believe their team can replicate that magical Bengals run. Michigan bettors, notorious for laying hard-earned cash on their sports teams, have made Detroit the seventh-most popular bet on the board at 4.5%. Dan Campbell's Lions are +15000 to win the Super Bowl, tying them with the Texans and Jets for longest odds. New York ranks 13th in terms of support, with 2.8% of tickets on the Jets. That's more bet slips than the Ravens, Steelers, Colts or Patriots have seen.

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In bettors' minds, the Lombardi Trophy's not going to Carolina. The Panthers are the least bet on team, coming in at just 0.4% of tickets. Atlanta and Cleveland round out the bottom three. Tampa Bay, who fielded the most Super Bowl futures of any team throughout the 2021 season and heading into the playoffs, ranks 26th in ticket percentage now that Tom Brady is retired.

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NFL betting: The public is jumping all over a Bills Super Bowl title in 2022 - Yahoo Sports

The Brooklyn experiment ended mercifully, almost abruptly. The long dalliance with the Philadelphia 76ers finally consummated with a trade that could rank among the best in recent history considering the star power.

James Harden forced his way off the team after forcing his way to Brooklyn one year ago. Kyrie Irving keeps himself as a part-time player, which no doubt rankled Harden in the process. Kevin Durant, the man this revolves around, has watched his grand plan blow up in smoke, and was no doubt weary of Harden no longer being onboard.

Getting Ben Simmons depending if Simmons mind, body and soul are right seems like the best possible consolation prize, and make no mistake, the Nets dont make this move without Durants blessing or urging.

They wouldve been better off choosing the Knicks. Perhaps it wouldve been just as predictable and combustible, but at least it wouldve been memorable and under the backdrop of Madison Square Garden.

Scary hours? Meet nightmare on Broad Street.

Championships, fun times and reformed reputations were supposed to be how this played out. Instead, there was no depth or consistency and flaky characters playing true to their histories.

This venture ended with Nets coach Steve Nash publicly claiming till the last minute Harden would be a Net, even though Harden seemed to have long checked out of this franchise. Its hard to pinpoint exactly when it all went downhill, but we cant point to the high moment because there isnt one.

The Brooklyn Nets reportedly traded James Harden to the Philadelphia 76ers on Thursday before the NBA trade deadline. (Steven Ryan/Getty Images)

But the commonality seems to be, when someone is ready to leave the party, everyone knows it long before the music stops.

Harden was arguably one day away from furniture moving in the locker room in Houston before being sent to Brooklyn, and his hamstring has tightened up at precisely the right time this year exactly when whatever joy hes played with has been replaced by a forlorn look of disengagement and desperation.

He stomped his feet, grabbed his hammy and went home. Even if his discontent came from a sliding scale of rule application concerning Irvings in-out-in status, he benefited from that power structure many times before.

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Remember that Ill inject him [with the COVID-19 vaccine] myself statement he made about Irving? Remember him jettisoning Chris Paul from Houston when that relationship went sour? Its no fun when someone else has the gun.

When Irving is ready to exit, scorched earth is usually behind his suitcases a smirk and who me explanation is often to follow. For Durants part, hes not as much an active participant in the four-alarm fire, but he wont tell you where the fire extinguisher is.

Harden will probably look close enough to his old self in Philadelphia as a second option next to Joel Embiid and being next to that old, comfortable blanket and binky, Daryl Morey. But his act has been so much of the focus, its taken the eye off his play taking a sharp decline as he approaches his mid-30s.

Making the assumption hell be reborn with a change of address and a long-term deal underscores that lately weve rarely seen the best of him and as his salary will continue to increase, hell be compared to his MVP-like standards against the heavy-handed approach from Philadelphia 76er fans.

And we all know Harden stands tall in the face of pressure, never backing down or running away from adversity.

That would require any of this to be about basketball, though, because its been about the drama or if you squint hard enough, the dramedy. Its not quite player empowerment gone bad, but the checks and balances seemed to be in short order on Atlantic Ave.

Irving could very well be the best soloist in the game today. Matched up with Durant and Hardens exploits, it should have made beautiful music.

They were supposed to be the best touring show since Durant took his talents to California, dazzling crowds and puzzling opponents.

But it felt so soulless, so empty, so devoid of any lasting impact. But even when the Miami Heat three were brought together, it felt at least like they were bringing everyone else along, that even when they played the villains it was the entire lot. With the Nets, those three were making their own rules but didnt confer with each other on the actual rules.

It looked disjointed and felt contrived and ugly when it shouldve been anything but. Perhaps the unpredictable pandemic hastened things, but like in any other line of life, it presented a mirror and exacerbated the ills of all involved.

But the feeling isn't because of the way they were brought together, not in sum.

In some ways, the Lakers 2020 title in the Orlando bubble felt hollow, but not because of the way LeBron James engineered a trade to get Anthony Davis out of the Bayou and into Los Angeles it left us wanting more because of the circumstances, not the people.

Had James Heat been disbanded after one year, not winning a title and flaming out dramatically against the Dallas Mavericks, the footprints still would be felt today.

Youd still feel something.

The greatest moment for these Nets wasnt even a team moment it was Durants, and his alone. Harden was a shell due to a hamstring injury and Irving injured his ankle, leaving Durant by his lonesome. He carried the Nets on his back and earned more credit with those 40-balls than even his historic Finals performances against James.

Who knows what Durant picked up from his time in the Bay Area, if he noticed that while it mightve felt chaotic, there was structure between all that freedom and freelancing. When theres anarchy, he wants order. When theres order, he wants to breathe.

Theres no perfect melody or harmony to be derived from this experience, although Nash and Sean Marks and Morey and Doc Rivers will put the best PR face on it in the immediate aftermath.

What can we get out of this?

Maybe an emotionally charged Nets-76ers playoff series one where Simmons wont play in Philly, but Irving will ONLY play in Philly.

Ay-yi-yi.

Excerpt from:

As James Harden exits to Philly, the Nets' experiment ends in failure - Yahoo Sports

Minty Bets says goodbye to an amazing NFL season.

MINTY BETS: Welcome to The Mint, a sports betting show where we're not trying to make you money, we're just trying to make sure you don't lose it all. I'm Minty Bets. And this week, we need to say goodbye to the NFL season. First of all, this was a great season. We saw blowouts, bad beats, a lot of overtime-- maybe a little too much overtime-- and quite a few missed kicks. Although it's officially the Year of the Tiger, it was the Year of the Dog in the NFL. Underdogs led the way in the regular season, covering at a 52% rate.

- Pretty good. Pretty good.

MINTY BETS: This has probably been one of the more difficult seasons to bet on, as we saw a lot of crazy unwarranted line moves, making it near impossible to find an edge early in the week. We saw crazy fans back in the stands. We saw Tom Brady and Ben Roethlisberger finally retire. We saw the Cincinnati Bengals make it to the Super Bowl for the first time since the '80s. And we saw Aaron Rodgers win MVP for the second year in a row.

- He is good.

MINTY BETS: It's a good thing that game show hosting didn't work out, right. The NFL blessed us with an extra week of games to bet on. Yet it somehow didn't feel like enough. Hopefully, we were able to make you some money this NFL season. And if not, my advice to you is to always fade the Chiefs.

- You should listen to her.

MINTY BETS: I'm Minty Bets. And this has been The Mint. Bet $10 and win $200 in free bets by signing up at betmgm.com/yahoovip. New customers only. Must be 21 and older. Terms apply.

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Betting: Saying goodbye to the NFL season - Yahoo Sports

IOC president Thomas Bach was scheduled to spend his Tuesday bouncing around to various Olympic events. Snowboarding in the morning, then some speed skating and finally shooting up to the mountains to watch a little bobsled.

It was another carefree day of fandom, full of first-class travel and security details. Lots of pomp. Lots of circumstance.

He would avoid the IOC's daily press briefing, which ran late due to all the questions about doping. He offered no public statements to a world filled with concerns about fair play.

He certainly would go nowhere near the figure skating venue, where controversy over a positive drug test involving Russian star Kamila Valieva had overwhelmed not just that event, but the entire Olympics itself.

International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach attends a luge event at the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympic Games at National Sliding Centre on February 09, 2022 in Yanqing, China. (Julian Finney/Getty Images)

Olympians have spent the past few days expressing outrage at a decision by the Court of Arbitration for Sport to allow the 15-year-old Valieva to skate in the womens individual competition despite having a banned substance in her system in a pre-Olympics test.

She should not be allowed to compete, said American Tara Lipinski, who won the 1998 womens figure skating gold. I believe this will leave a permanent scar on our sport.

It is a shame, said German Katarina Witt, who won the gold in 1984 and 1988. The responsible adults should be banned from the sport forever.

Yet Bach has said nothing and has done nothing. Hes busy casually checking in on the bobsled like everything is fine.

Social media was a cauldron of anger. Journalists raged to the point that ones from Russia and Great Britain nearly came to blows. The failure of the IOC to adequately punish, even ban, Russia from the Olympics after previous state-sponsored doping scandals came under renewed scrutiny.

These entire Games, already beset by awfulness ranging from substandard facilities for athletes caught in Chinese COVID protocols to allegations of slave labor, torture and genocide of the Uyghur ethnic minority, had found a new bottom.

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One of the Winter Olympics' signature events womens figure skating is so beset by doping suspicions that the IOC itself won't stage a medal ceremony if Valieva, the gold medal favorite, is on the podium. The reasoning is there remains a decent chance she'll have to give the medal back (she is allowed to skate, but can still be found guilty later).

It would be very difficult to allocate medals in a situation that is not final, said IOC member Denis Oswald of Switzerland. "There is a chance you will not give the right medal to the right team. That is why we decided it would be wiser to wait.

Why should anyone tune in then?

This is the kind of disaster that calls for leadership. Even if Bach couldnt wave a magic wand and make it alright, he could at least be expected to show up and try.

There is no single, simple reason why the Olympics have found themselves in its current state attracting awful television ratings in America, getting hammered for its cozy relationship with a torturous Chinese Communist Party, stuck trying to reach the finish line inside a near joyless, passionless COVID-extreme bubble.

Yet Thomas Bach is as good a place to start as any. Every step of his now almost nine-year run as IOC president has found a new depressing low, one failure begetting another failure. It's hard not to see the IOC, and the Olympic movement in general, as anything but outdated and irrelevant; corrupt, craven and cash-obsessed.

When the CCP needed Bach to help spread its propaganda about the treatment of the Uyghurs or the supposed safety of tennis star Peng Shuai, Bach couldnt have snapped to attention quicker. He gave speeches, chatted with media and made appearances alongside Peng, who after accusing a high-level government employee of rape, has lived a life that looks a lot like that of a hostage.

On the skating controversy, however, that has done all it can to kill the spirit of sportsmanship as the Russians potentially doped up a child prodigy?

Nowhere to be seen. Nothing to be said. Does Vladimir Putin own him?

Oswald was left to explain the dizzying protocols, alphabet soup governing bodies and arbitrators of justice and offer up excuses that, while potentially well-intentioned, stood no chance in the global court of public opinion.

The average person can understand the simple: this teen from Russia who has already delivered the three highest scores of all time had a banned substance in her system but gets to compete anyway.

That isnt fair.

Trying, meanwhile, to navigate, let alone comprehend the roles of CAS, WADA, RUSADA, ITA, ISU, ROC and who knows what else, requires a PhD in the parlance of the IOC.

Oswald kept saying that the IOC had essentially outsourced all of the difficult disciplinary and doping decisions to supposedly independent organizations so it could avoid the appearance of conflict. Perhaps that seemed like a good idea.

In practice, the entire Olympics has descended into conflict.

Only there was no one to reassure the world that an actual competent adult was in charge that might eventually steady the ship.

Appearances matter. Even just appearing matters.

This is who Thomas Bach has proven himself to be, though. An empty suit at home in a comped hotel suite, a distant, arrogant tool of totalitarian strongmen, a president who couldnt even be bothered to acknowledge that his organization was cratering the last few days.

He was busy fiddling as a fan while the Olympics burned.

The rest is here:

While doping scandal engulfs Olympics, the one person we need to hear from is hiding - Yahoo Sports

The Cincinnati Bengals lost Super Bowl LVI to the Los Angeles Rams, and there were myriad reasons that can be attributed for their defeat.

Among them ...

Here's another one we can't forget: Winning the turnover battle by two, no less! and not taking better advantage of it.

Matthew Stafford threw two interceptions, and the Bengals turned those into a combined three points. The Bengals did not give the ball away all game.

Bengals coach Zac Taylor agrees that the turnover advantage should have played in their favor more.

If there's ever a game where the turnover margin has been a big deal historically, it's the Super Bowl. The Rams became just the third team in 56 such games to lose the turnover battle by two or more and win. (Even teams that were minus-1 in the turnover margin were a mere 4-8 in Super Bowl history.)

Coincidentally, the last Super Bowl team to lose the TO margin by two or more and win was the 1979 Steelers ... against the Rams. The game was played just down the road from SoFi Stadium at the Rose Bowl, too, for what that's worth.

And Super Bowl teams that committed zero turnovers in the game? They were 19-2 coming into Sunday. The Bengals made it 19-3.

Here's another odd coincidence: The last zero-turnover Super Bowl team to lose before Sunday? The Tennessee Titans, who dropped Super Bowl XXXIV to ... the Rams. (Of course, the Rams also had no turnovers in that game.)

[Join Yahoo's free Big Game prop quiz for a chance to win up to $10K]

On the surface, it's fair to say the Bengals had zero turnovers. No interceptions plus no lost fumbles equals no turnovers. Simple math.

But if you really want to count empty possessions i.e. handing the ball over to the opponent not via a punt then we need to consider two other results: missed field-goal attempts and fourth-down stops.

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The Bengals were 2-for-2 on FG tries. But they were 0-for-2 on fourth downs. Both fourth-down failures were big, too.

The first one came on the Bengals' opening possession. Facing a fourth-and-1 at the Los Angeles 49-yard line, Joe Burrow's pass attempt to Ja'Marr Chase was incomplete. Suddenly, it was Rams ball in great field position, and six plays later they converted it into a 7-0 lead.

The final fourth-down failure, of course, came on the final drive. Burrow was hit by Aaron Donald, forcing the ball to hit the turf at the feet of Bengals running back Samaje Perine.

And on both fourth-down stops, Perine was stuffed on third-and-1 the play before. Those two non-conversions loomed large, to say the least.

We understand by Perine was in the game both times at least in theory.

For one, he has been used as the team's short-yardage back from time to time. Although the question is why. This season, Perine ran the ball nine times with 2 or fewer yards to go; he converted only four of those and had a long run of 2 yards.

Joe Mixon, who had a strong Super Bowl, converted first downs on 28 of his 46 runs this season with 1 or 2 yards to go. Of his failures in those situations, only nine came on third or fourth down (and on one of those plays, Mixon made up for his third-down failure by converting on fourth).

Mixon is the better player, the better short-yardage runner and was having a good game. Taylor was asked about giving it to Perine on the final third down, although he was not asked about why Mixon didn't get the ball there.

Yeah, they were getting a little softer and we thought we could steal a first down there and come back and take some shots at the end zone, Taylor said. Just didnt work out.

Our best guess on why Perine got it instead of Mixon: The Bengals were in their hurry-up offense at that point and could not substitute. Although it's fair to wonder why Mixon wasn't in there to start the final drive. He played 44 of the 61 offensive snaps and touched the ball 20 times in the game, but ... it's the last possession of the Super Bowl, you know?

Taylor's point is that the Bengals should win most games when they're plus-two in turnovers. Then again, he of all people should know history notwithstanding that the turnover margin isn't some end-all, be-all metric.

The Bengals had lost two prior games this season when winning the turnover margin by two-plus this season road losses to the Browns and Jets and were only 3-3 in such games this season.

Adding insult to injury, the Bengals had a shot to win at the end.

Trailing 23-20 and facing a second-and-1 at the Los Angeles 49-yard line with 56 seconds remaining, the Bengals were given a 31.64% chance to win, according to Pro Football Reference. Even after an incomplete pass on second down, the Bengals' win probability fell to only 27.64%.

Getting stuffed on third down hurt badly, especially after losing a timeout because of it. That dropped their chances to a mere 13.75%.

Had they protected Burrow on fourth down, perhaps the Bengals could even have scored.

Burrow had no realistic chance to get the ball to him, but Chase beat the Rams' Jalen Ramsey on the Bengals' final offensive play, streaking wide open downfield with no safety nearby. The Rams appeared to be in Cover 1 (single-high coverage).

In an alternate universe, we were this close to Chase catching a 49-yard TD with about 35 seconds remaining and the Rams likely needing to go for six for the win.

Yet it wasn't meant to be. Donald pressured Burrow, his last pass was incomplete, and that was that.

Forcing two more turnovers than you commit certainly gives your team a great chance of winning. Teams achieving that in the 2021 regular season were a combined 98-14-1.

But missing on two fourth-down conversions, especially when one could have been a touchdown, must be factored in. The Bengals can add that to the list of reasons why they lost the Super Bowl.

Original post:

The Bengals lost a Super Bowl in a way no other team has in 42 years - Yahoo Eurosport UK

When 29-year old Julia Beliak and her husband started looking for a home in upstate New York in October, 2020, they knew there would be competition, but certainly didnt expect there would be 14 offers in three days on a four bedroom, two-bath property that had been abandoned and neglected for years.

The layout was cramped and dysfunctional, the bathrooms were unusable, the vinyl floors needed to be ripped out and replaced, and the garage was on the verge of collapsing. The house needed a gut renovation, said Beliak, who figured with a little TLC, the home could still be beautiful.

I had a vision, said Beliak, who with her husband shelled out $50,000 over asking to win the bidding war and allocated another $100,000 for renovations. And my vision was to make this our dream house.

Instead, it turned into a nightmare. After closing on the home in March, 2021, Beliak has hired and fired nine contractors and dealt with "every imaginable disaster," including fraud, extortion, overcharging, and harassment. The house was even made uninhabitable through unsafe work, she added.

Some of the walls and beams were removed that should not have been," she said. "The electrical outlets were done so poorly that we were afraid to use them, and the stovetops didnt work for several months after the installation.

Homeowners are running into all kinds of problems with contractors who are in demand. (Photo: Getty Creative)

Welcome to the world of contractor hell.

This is an industry thats long been known for its unsavory, unethical characters, said Jody Costello, a home renovation planning and consumer fraud expert. Its a risky industry.

These risks are escalating, said Jack Gillis, executive director of the Consumer Federation of America.

The insatiable demand by consumers to fix up their homes after being locked up for two years is outstripping supply," he said. "This has exasperated the situation, and with this comes abuse.

This abuse comes in many forms, said Costello, from falsely claiming to be licensed, insured, or bonded to demanding large payments upfront to attempting to perform services without a written contract to requesting payment in cash and more.

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Many homeowners, desperate to get the work done quickly, are skipping the vetting process. Some are being drawn in by lowball offers. Others are simply hiring the first contractor who returns their calls. This often results in shoddy, unfinished work, which tops the list of consumer complaints made to state and local agencies, said Gillis.

People are too trusting and thats what often gets them into trouble, Costello said.

Many homeowners, desperate to get the work done quickly, are skipping the vetting process when hiring contractors. (Photo: Getty Creative)

Just ask 40-year-old Robert Puharich.

I got burned twice on trust, he said.

Now $150,000 over his initial budget, Puharich is relying on his third contractor to clean up the mess the previous two made renovating his 1,800-square foot home in Maple Ridge, British Columbia in Canada.

Everything was done incorrectly framing, pipes, insulation, and I made the mistake of giving the initial guy $25,000 upfront which he used to buy a new truck, he said.

New homeowners who have never owned a home are the most vulnerable, and theyre everywhere, said 52-year-old Deborah Spence of Pottsdown, Pennsylvania. But Ive been in the industry for seven years as a real estate broker and property manager, and Ive had the wool pulled over my eyes, too.

In fact, shes about to spend $40,000 redoing three small projects.

Theres a take it or leave it attitude," she said, and if you complain about something like wires that were installed incorrectly and how thats creating unsafe electrical conditions, they get huffy or disappear altogether.

YF Plus

Personal Finance Journalist Vera Gibbons is a former staff writer for SmartMoney magazine and a former correspondent for Kiplinger's Personal Finance. Vera, who spent over a decade as an on air Financial Analyst for MSNBC, currently serves as co-host of the weekly nonpolitical news podcast she founded, NoPo. She lives in Palm Beach, Florida.

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Homeowners confront 'every imaginable disaster' trying to renovate their homes - Yahoo Tech

NIESR prediction saw the FTSE 100 lose its earlier momentum on Tuesday. Photo: Getty

European stock markets were mixed on Tuesday as conversations and worries over inflation and the rising cost of living linger.

The FTSE 100 (^FTSE) lost its earlier gains, closing 0.2% lower after gaining 0.6% on opening.

Economist launched a scathing attack on the Bank of England (BoE) on Tuesday for "creating" the UK's inflation crisis that could see the country dragged into recession.

Paul Mortimer-Lee at the National Institute of Economic and Social Research (NIESR) said the BoE "got behind the curve by at least six or probably nine months" when it came to rate rises.

He forecast inflation to soar to 7% in April this year. This is in line with BoE estimate of 7% by Spring 2022.

"While BP earnings provided an initial bounce for the FTSE 100 that has faded throughout the day and a sense of caution prevails as the index returns to 7600 and its January highs," said Chris Beauchamp, chief market analyst at online trading platform IG.

"Other indices continue to struggle, and if fears about a slowdown in growth gather pace then the FTSE 100 may end up moving back down to join other indices like the Dax rather than them playing catch-up with the UK index."

Meanwhile, Ocado (OCDO.L) proved to be the main drag on London's bluechip index, as shares fell 11.6% after the online retailer posted steep losses for last year, with pre-tax losses widening from 52.3m to 176.9m in the year to the end of November 2021.

Read more: UK inflation to peak at 7% in April as household inequalities widen

"The FTSE 100 has emerged from the recent turbulence in global stock markets to hit its highest since the pandemic. The lack of exposure to speculative tech names like Ocado has been a positive for the UK market as the great unwind from this bloated corner of the market takes place in the US," Neil Wilson, chief market analyst at markets.com said. "The FTSE 100 has outperformed in 2022, rising over 3% whilst the DAX (3.5%), Dow Jones (-3.5%) and S&P 500 (6%) have all fallen."

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BP (BP.L) earlier lifted the FTSE with shares soaring over 2% as the company cashed in on the energy price hike. The company posted a surge in profits to 10bn ($12.8bn) in 2021 its highest in eight years. The oil stalwarts quarterly results were supported by higher gas and oil prices and production which was partly offset by weaker oil trading results. It had crashed to a $20.3bn full-year loss in 2020 due to the pandemic.

Michael Hewson, chief market analyst at CMC Markets said: "BPs biggest problem in the longer term, is that all its profits come from its oil and gas operation and productions businesses, which is great news while prices remain high, but may not be so sustainable beyond 2030."

Read more: Why the energy price cap is going up when oil firms are making billions in profit

Elsewhere in Europe, Frances CAC (^FCHI) and the DAX (^GDAXI) closed up over 0.2%.

It comes as European Central Bank (ECB) president Christine Lagarde struck a less hawkish tone on Monday after attempting to calm market jitters about rates rises. She said there were no signs that measurable monetary policy tightening would be required.

Read more: Will the BP share price keep rising?

Across the Atlantic, US major benchmarks were in the green on Tuesday after a choppy trading day, which saw them edge lower on Monday.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq (^IXIC) was up 0.9% after the opening bell. Wall Streets blue-chip S&P 500 (^GSPC) rose 0.6%, while the Dow Jones (^DJI) gained over. 0.9%.

Inflation has been a topic of focus after a sudden and sharp surge in several countries resulting from the restoration global economic activity and bottlenecks in the global supply chain. Investors are watching to see if global central banks will attempt to head off inflation by accelerating the withdrawal of economic stimulus.

Federal Reserve officials mentioned in December that the bank plans to speed up efforts to withdraw record-low interest rates and other stimulus to cool multi-decade high inflation.

US inflation soared from 5.4% at the end of the third quarter to 7% in last three months of 2021 and is expected to continue to rise.

"We are sticking to our estimate of 11.5% earnings growth for 2022 and 8.5% for 2023. Our year-end S&P 500 price target is 5,100, up from 4,484 at Mondays close," said Mark Haefele, CIO at UBS global wealth management.

"While there remains a risk that the Federal Reserve could tighten by more than markets expect currently six hikes of 25 basis points each this is not our base case. With demand remaining healthy, we advise investors to focus on winners from global growth."

Overseas, the pan continental Stoxx Europe 600 (^STOXX) gained 0.7%.

Asian stocks were mixed after Wall Streets fall. The Shanghai Composite (000001.SS) was up 0.7% after reopening following Chinas New Year holiday week. The rise came despite a private gauge of the countrys service sector dipping to a five-month low.

The Hang Seng (^HSI) declined 0.9% while the Nikkei (^N225) advanced 0.1% in Japan.

Watch: What is inflation and why is it important?

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For the second time in a matter of weeks, a father of a Toronto Raptor is making headlines.

Following Eric Flynns vehement defence of his son Malachi in late January, Gary Trent, father of Raptors guard Gary Trent Jr., has shed some light on the latters personal struggles in Portland during an appearance on the "Raptors Show with Will Lou."

My son played with so much pain, and my son was so depressed and so down and so sad in Portland, that watching him play actually used to hurt me, said the former Raptors forward. I knew my son wasnt feeling himself, wasnt playing his game, he was under a lot of negative pressure [from] negative statements from front-office people.

Trent, who had a brief stint with the Raptors after being traded from Portland in 1998, also detailed how much better his son is doing now with his role in Toronto.

When I come and visit my son now in Toronto, hes in a much happier place mentally, spiritually, and he smiles more, he said. Hes looking forward to practice, hes looking forward to the games, and I can see the love for the game blossoming within him again.

Gary Trent Jr.'s father has seen a noticeable differerence in his son since he was traded to the Toronto Raptors last year. (Photo by Cole Burston/Getty Images)

Trent Jr. was acquired from the Portland Trailblazers ahead of the 2021 NBA trade deadline in a deal that sent guard Norman Powell the other way. Powell, who signed a five-year, $90-million deal with the Blazers in the offseason, was traded to the Los Angeles Clippers on Friday.

Trent Sr. did not hold back on Portlands mismanagement.

They dont really have a plan, and I dont think theyve made the right decisions over there, the 47-year-old said. My son is five, six years younger than Norm, which means hes got a lot more time and a lot more upside, so to me, the Raptors won that deal, and God bless that my son won on that deal to get in a better opportunity.

In December, the Trail Blazers fired president of basketball operations and general manager Neil Olshey after an investigation into allegations that he created a toxic workplace. According to Yahoo Sports' Chris Haynes, multiple employees said they had grievances with his treatment of staff, which included verbal abuse.

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They also faced backlash last summer over the hiring of head coach Chauncey Billups, who was accused of rape in 1997, and their inability to build around superstar Damian Lillard, who underwent abdominal surgery on Jan. 13 and has no timetable for a return. Portland is currently 11th place in the Eastern Conference with a 21-33 record.

Trent Jr. has been a true revelation for a resurgent Raptor team, averaging career highs in points (18.1), rebounds (2.7) and assists (2.0), while also sitting among the league-leaders in steals and deflections.

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Gary Trent Jr.s father says son was sad and depressed playing in Portland - Yahoo Sports

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Tuesday, February 8, 2022

Geopolitics are pushing oil toward $100, and thats a problem for inflation

Ukraine and OPEC have become inflation risks of sorts.

And Wall Street, preoccupied as it has become with a host of other issues like interest rates, earnings and economic growth, has yet to fully appreciate why they matter.

Investors havent been paying much attention to the crisis in Eastern Europe, which is just one of several geopolitical flash points menacing a world thats still in the clutches of COVID-19. However, oil is emerging as a barometer of concerns like a potential Russian invasion of Ukraine, and an oil cartel thats burned through spare capacity.

As if we needed any more sources of price pressure, crude is inching closer and closer to $100 per barrel and analysts are warning the balance of risks will make it very easy to breach that psychological barrier, Yahoo Finances Ines Ferre reported on Monday.

Regarding Ukraine, the biggest fear is that an incursion by Russia will force the hand of the United States, raising the specter that a cold war with Moscow could easily turn hot.

"The U.S. wants to make it clear that Washington and its allies are absolutely prepared if it comes to a major military escalation, Eurasia Group senior analyst Zachary Witlin told Yahoo Finance Live in a recent interview.

At least for now, that remains a low probability. However, the potential for other spillover effects like an energy supply crunch that dents Europes recovery, to an armed conflict that disrupts the operations of multinational companies remains a very real and present danger. With energy prices already elevated, the Russia scenario could easily add to upward pressure that would translate into higher prices, and at the worst possible time.

Last week, Mondelez Internationals CFO told Yahoo Finances Brooke DiPalma that the company was concerned about its employees in the region. Russia may account for an estimated 10% to 11% of Mondelez's European Union (EU) segment, and approximately 3% of its total sales in 2022, Piper Sandler recently estimated.

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"As long as the Russians are threatening to move into Ukraine, [the crude oil] market's going to stay bid," Bob Yawger, Mizuho Americas executive director, told Yahoo Finance Live recently. If Russias oil is "sanctioned or there's trouble moving barrels... that's going to be a major problem"

And we havent even begun to scratch the surface of whats happening in the Middle East and OPEC, whose meetings used to be the source of much market angst but have retreated into background noise in an era dominated by the pandemic.

Bank of America noted that a surprising decline in spare capacity among the oil cartels members has helped fuel crudes recent gains, adding to tight supply conditions in the context of surging demand.

And its not just OPEC, either, with Iran emerging as an immediate concern amid grudging progress between Tehran and the West on a nuclear deal. Currently Middle East watchers see a low probability of a deal being reached, and talks could easily hit the skids.

Beyond the oil cartel, we see four additional elements that could lead to higher oil price volatility through March, Goldman Sachs analysts recently noted, and on Monday predicted crude would hit $105 per barrel.

Force multipliers include the U.S. possibly releasing more supply from its strategic petroleum reserve (a move the Biden administration has already deployed, to little avail), the migration from gas to oil as winter wraps up, and negative Iran headlines.

Its the latter that has the biggest potential to boost prices, with Goldman warning that an increase in bearish headlines on Iran deal progress would likely hit sentiment in a market desperate for spare capacity.

In other words, no rest for an inflation-weary public.

By Javier E. David, editor at Yahoo Finance. Follow him at @Teflongeek

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The inflationary risk markets are ignoring, but shouldnt - Yahoo Finance